Now this is disrespect

After "demoting Barry Zito to the bullpen" last week, the Giants are putting him back in the rotation against the Pirates tonight without him ever actually having pitched in relief. That's gotta feel like a slap in the face to the Pirates, because Zito has been downright awful this year. Imagine Matt Morris as younger, left-handed, and with $100 million more due to him and you've got the early 2008 Barry Zito. In fact, until we trade McCutchen for Zito, the phrase "it could always be worse" will always apply to the Pirates.

Going against Zito will be the much cheaper and certainly no worse Phil Dumatrait. Most of his peripherals make me nervous he's due for a breakdown, but if the Giants couldn't figure out Zach Duke last night then there's hope for Dumatrait tonight. Unless, of course, the Giants get adjusted to soft-tossing lefties and figure out how to hit these guys. In that case, we're screwed because that's pretty much all we've got. Personally, I'm kinda rooting for a 13-11 shootout tonight. At least it'll be interesting.